My Life Revolves Around the Tube

My life revolves around the tube.

Without it, "my wings would be clipped". With it, I can get to any place in the city.

It is reliable, frequent, fast, clean, safe and quiet. I am never lost as long as I can find a tube station.

To say that "I love the tube" would be an understatement.


I was thrilled to find a walking tour called "The Lure of the Tube".

The concept of the tube started in the 1830's! The city had been rapidly expanding and became incredibly congested (and filthy dirty and polluted.)

The first tube line was opened in 1863. It was the Metropolitan Line at Baker St. It is the oldest rapid transit system in the world.

The first day it carried 38,000 passengers.

They started by using steam locomotives, followed by electric trains in 1890.

Initially, each train line was owned and operated by independent businesses.


The tube line grew as the city grew. Also, conversely, the city grew as the tube line grew.

Because of city congestion, one of the tube lines purchased farm land outside the city, built the tube line and also built new homes. As it turned out, building the new houses was more profitable than the tube line itself!

During WWI and WWII the tube stations were used as air raid shelters. They even had gardens in them during the war.

Currently there is a poster in the tube stations depicting their roles as night time shelters. Today's riders struggling with their daily commute replace families that took refuge in them during both wars.

The Embankment tube station is along the Thames River.

During the war it had flood gates installed to protect the tube line in the event that a bomb was dropped into the Thames and caused the river to flood the embankment.

When the Westminster station was expanded there were the usual challenges digging the line under the existing buildings.

To further complicate it, there were "secret" underground structures whose "secret" size and locations could not be revealed to the tube line designers. Tube plans had to be continually re-designed without knowing where and what they were being re-designed around. The solution was to keep going deeper and deeper underground.

In 2013, the 150th anniversary of the tube, they held a contest for artwork in the tubes. A poster of a labyrinth adorns each station, and each one is numbered and different. The labyrinth design was chosen because it symbolizes the extensive system, but that each one has a way to find the centre, or way out.

Currently, the tube carries over 3 millions riders per day!


I am very grateful for the tube. Without it my life would be very boring.